Florida Studio Theatre opens its Stage III Series with the Florida premiere of Edward Albee's Occupant, the portrait of acclaimed American sculptor Louise Nevelson, Jan. 17 after previews from Jan. 14 at the Gompertz Theatre in Sarasota, FL.

Born into a Ukrainian Jewish family, Nevelson's family immigrated to America when she was a young child. FST asks, "With a personality as impressive as her art, was she destined for greatness? What is the relationship between creator and creation? Who was Louise Nevelson? Only she knew."

Director Susan Greenhill's production (running to Jan. 31) marks the return of Florida Studio Theatre's associate director Kate Alexander as Nevelson. Alexander has been a resident actress with Florida Studio Theatre for over 20 years.

Playing the interviewer character who draws stories out of Nevelson is New York actor Patrick Noonan. The two-actor Occupant is a surprisingly straightforward bio play from the Pulitzer Prize winner known for his lacerating, sometimes absurdist-influenced works, including Seascape, A Delicate Balance, The Goat and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The production team includes FST staff member Eric Abbott (costume design), Lauren Feldman (set design) and Bruce Price (lighting design).

For more information visit www.floridastudiotheatre.org. *

Stage III debuted in January 2005 "to answer an increasing demand from local audiences for edgier works that showed the uncommon human experience and challenged previously held beliefs and values." Featuring plays that challenge with as much gusto as they entertain, FST Stage III "pushes the envelope of contemporary theatre and brings fresh, edgy works to the Sarasota theatrical landscape."

Known as Sarasota's "contemporary theatre," Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Jon Spelman. Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. The company eventually settled down into a permanent home, acquiring the former Woman's Club building — now renamed the Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre presented contemporary theatre in its three venues: the Keating Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret and its newest space, the Gompertz Theatre.